The Phoenix Suns got back on the floor in Phoenix on the second night of a back-to-back, trying to shake off a 122-96 loss to the Spurs and keep their season from sliding further. Devin Booker gave them 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting the night before, but it was not nearly enough to stop a lopsided defeat that left the Suns at 3-6.
That is why Clippers vs Suns drew attention in the first place. The Clippers arrived at 2-7, but they had just snapped a seven-game skid by beating the Pelicans 139-123 on Sunday, a game in which they shot 55% from the field, went 16-for-38 from three and got 59 points from the bench. They also piled up 34 assists, only 11 turnovers and 31 made free throws, the kind of numbers that can make a struggling team look far more dangerous than its record suggests.
Phoenix had to answer without Brandon Ingram and Bradley Beal, both out with injuries, and that put even more pressure on Booker to carry the offense again. The Suns needed more from Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges as secondary scoring options, and they also needed Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin to help on defense and provide a spark. Against the Spurs, the other four Suns starters combined for 27 points on 10-of-36 shooting, while the team as a whole shot 39.3% and had its starters on the bench with 9:34 left.
There was also a warning in the Clippers' numbers that fit the matchup. They came in second in the NBA in 3-point percentage and fourth in bench scoring, so even at 2-7 they carried the kind of shot-making that can erase a bad stretch in a hurry. That is the problem for Phoenix: a team trying to steady itself on tired legs could still be met by a group that has already shown it can get hot from deep and steal a game.
The Suns had won two of their previous four games on a seven-game homestand, so this was not a season-defining moment by itself. But after a blowout loss, at home, on tired legs, against an opponent that had just found its rhythm again, the margin for another quiet night from everyone except Booker was thin.
